Ted Cruz on Principles & Values

I hear, "I didn't vote for you but you did what you said"

Texas provided my family with hope. Here, my mom became the first in her family ever to go to college. Here, my dad fled Cuba and washed dishes, making 50 cents an hour to pay his way through the University of Texas. When I ran for Senate, I promised
27 million Texans I would fight for you every day, and not for the Washington bosses. As I travel the state, Democrats tell me I didn't vote for you, but you're doing what you said you would do. As president, I will do the same.

FactCheck: Yes, Cruz speaks Spanish & understands Univision

CRUZ: Marco went on Univision in Spanish and said he would not rescind Pres. Obama's
illegal executive amnesty on his first day in office.

RUBIO: Well, I don't know how he knows what I said on Univision because he doesn't speak Spanish.

CRUZ: ¨Marco, qu‚ quieres? Ahora mismo, en espa¤ol: ¨Qu‚ quieres? ["Marco, what do you want?
Right now, in Spanish, what do you want?"]

RUBIO: Look, this is a disturbing pattern now, because for a number of weeks now, Ted Cruz has just been telling lies. And here is the truth, Ted Cruz supported legalizing people that were in this country.

Both Senators accused each other of lying; we won't comment on the other accusations, but Rubio was clearly incorrect in his assertion that Cruz speaks no Spanish.

FactCheck: McCain was born in US territory, not Panama

Ted Cruz asserted, "If a soldier has a child abroad, that child is a natural-born citizen. That's why John McCain, even though he was born in Panama, was eligible to run for president."

We checked the facts and Ted Cruz is wrong--McCain was NOT born in
Panama, but in the Panama Canal Zone, which at that time was a US. territory. Cruz claims, falsely, that McCain was the child of soldiers abroad--that would have been the case if McCain's parents had crossed the border to the country of Panama, but they
chose to stay in U.S. territory.

On the constitutional term "natural-born citizen", OnTheIssues follows the "stamp rule": What stamp would one use at the place one was born? McCain's parents would have used US stamps in the Canal Zone, so McCain is
eligible. Barry Goldwater was similarly questioned in 1964 because he was born in Arizona territory before it became a state--he also passes the "stamp rule." George Romney, born to US parents in Mexico, does not pass the "stamp rule"--nor does Cruz!

$1M campaign finance scandal: "I made a paperwork error"

Just about all of the establishment opposed me in the senate race in Texas and my opponent in that race was worth over 200 million dollars. He put a 25 million dollar check up from his own pocket to fund that
campaign and my wife Heidi and I, we ended up investing everything we owned. We took a loan against our assets to invest it in that campaign. I made a paperwork error disclosing it on one piece of paper instead of the other.

Source: Fox Business Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016

NY values means not a lot of conservatives from Manhattan

Q: You criticized Donald Trump for having "New York values." What does that mean?

CRUZ: I think most people know exactly what New York values are. There are many wonderful working men and women in the state of New York.
But everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro- gay-marriage, focus around money and the media. Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just saying.

Source: Fox Business Republican 2-tier debate
, Jan 14, 2016

We the people can turn this nation around

58 years ago, my father fled Cuba. As he stood on the deck of that ferryboat with the wind and salt air blowing, he looked back at the oppression and torture he was escaping. And yet he looked forward to the promise of America. His story is our story.
What ties Americans together is we are all the children of those who risked everything for freedom. If we get back to the free market principles and constitutional liberties that built this country, we can turn this country around.

Source: Fox Business/WSJ Second Tier debate
, Nov 10, 2015

I'm not guy to have beer with; I'm the guy to drive you home

I'm a fighter. I am passionate about what I believe. I've been passionate my whole life about the Constitution. For six and a half years, we've had a gigantic party. If you want someone to grab a beer with, I may not be that guy.
But if you want someone to drive you home, I will get the job done. And I will get you home.

How about talking about the issues, unlike mainstream media

The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media. This is not a cage match. And if you look at the questions: Donald Trump, are you a comic book villain?
Ben Carson, can you do math? John Kasich, will you insult two people over here? Marco Rubio, why don't you resign? Jeb Bush, why have your numbers fallen? How about talking about the substantive issues?

I've been taking on government and my party

Who has stood up not just to Democrats, but to leaders in our own party? When millions of Americans rose up against ObamaCare, I was proud to lead that fight. When millions of Americans rose up against amnesty, I was proud to lead that fight.
When millions of Americans rose up against Planned Parenthood, I was proud to lead that fight. If people are promising they're going to take on Washington and cronyism, you need to look to who has been doing it.

Oppose Surrender Politics: instead, stand for our principles

What happens in politics when one side is absolutely committed to its principles, willing to fight for them, and the other side reflexively surrenders on every issue? We have modern-day Washington. Today, President Barack Obama fights relentlessly for
his liberal priorities. And Republican leadership responds to every challenge by surrendering at the outset.

The core of this capitulation comes from Republican leadership's promise that "There will be no government shutdown." On its face, the promise
sounds reasonable. Except in practice it means that Republicans never stand for anything. If Republican majorities in Congress will acquiesce to the identical Big Government priorities that Obama supports, then what difference does it make who is in
charge of Congress?

When Reagan was president, there were eight partial shutdowns. The world didn't end. But that's what happens sometimes when a leader fights for his principles. The alternative is to surrender on everything. We can do better.

Source: Politico.com article by Ted Cruz
, Sep 23, 2015

I'm a consistent conservative, not a campaign conservative

I'm the son of a pastor and evangelist and I've described many times how my father, when I was a child, was an alcoholic. He was not a Christian. And my father left my mother and left me when I was just three years old. And someone invited him to Clay
Road Baptist Church. And he gave his heart to Jesus and it turned him around. And he got on a plane and he flew back to my mother and me.

Scripture tells us, "you shall know them by their fruit." We see lots of "campaign conservatives." But if we're
going to win in 2016, we need a consistent conservative, someone who has been a fiscal conservative, a social conservative, a national security conservative.

There are real differences among the candidates on issues like amnesty, like ObamaCare, like
religious liberty, like life and marriage. And I have been proud to fight and stand for religious liberty, to stand against Planned Parenthood, to defend life for my entire career. And I will be proud to continue to do so as president.

Domestic policy adviser to George W. Bush campaign

[In 1999, I attended] a fundraiser for Governor Bush. I then met with [Bush campaign staff] and next thing I knew I had a job on the campaign. As one of the domestic policy adviser to George W. Bush. Within two weeks, I had packed up my things and headed
for Austin.

Governor Bush intended from the outset to run a campaign that was policy-driven and substantive. There was a lot of pressure on those of us on the policy team to help develop meaningful policy proposals that would underpin the political messaging.

I'm despised by GOP establishment, but so was Reagan

Though Cruz is loathed by the GOP establishment, conservative activists love him. Concerns about his electability are his biggest problem. After 8 years of Obama, conservatives are eager to win back the White House--and to many, Cruz just seems too
extreme to win a general election.

His response: Essentially, Cruz argued that he is the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan, and that those foolish doubters would have impeded Reagan's rise. "It was 40 years ago at CPAC that
President Reagan said the path to victory is not pale pastels but bold colors," he said, as some in the crowd shouted those last two words along with him. "I am convinced 2016 is going to be an election very much like 1980," he said.

We win elections by bold principles & a positive agenda

How do we win elections? In the contrast between corrupt Washington and the American people, we stand with the American people. We stand with a straight-forward and bold and positive agenda to inspire the young, to inspire women, to inspire Hispanics--
to inspire everybody.

Defend the Constitution--all of it.

We need to abolish the IRS. We need to adopt a simple flat tax.

We need to expand energy in this country and expand high-paying jobs all over America.

We need to expand school choice.

We need to repeal Dodd-Frank.

We need to audit the Federal Reserve.

We need to pass a strong balanced budget amendment.

We need to repeal every single word of ObamaCare.

We need to stop the lawlessness [of
Obama and ObamaCare].

We need to end the corruption.

A friend of mine suggested a bumper sticker slogan, "Republicans, we waste less." You win elections by standing for principle, inspiring people that there is a better tomorrow.

Obama believes redistribution of wealth betters the world

In a reply to a question on President Barack Obama in a Time magazine interview, Cruz the diplomat replied, "I think Barack Obama is an extraordinary politician.
And I respect Barack Obama a great deal. I think he is committed to his principles, which is rare in politics. Now I also think that the principles he believe in are profoundly dangerous.
I respect that he believes, I think genuinely, with all of his heart, that government control of economy and redistribution of wealth betters the world. I think moving in that direction has wreaked havoc to the American economy.
The people who suffer in the Obama economy have been young people, African Americans, Hispanics, single moms.

Washington would be better with more farmers & fewer lawyers

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz waded into an ugly Senate battle. Last week, Iowa Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley denigrated Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley as "a farmer from Iowa who never went to law school." Braley suggested that made Grassley unqualified to be
chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The speech was made to a group of lawyers; Braley himself is a trial lawyer. The backlash was severe, and Braley apologized.

In an opinion piece published in The Iowa Republican,
Cruz, a lawyer himself, touted Grassley and his accomplishments in the Senate. "Well, let me tell you something. Washington would be a lot better off if we had more farmers in Congress and a lot fewer trial lawyers," Cruz writes. "I'm a constitutional
lawyer who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and in my opinion Chuck Grassley--that Iowa farmer whom Braley was denigrating--would make an outstanding chairman of that committee," he went on.

OpEd: definition of "natural born" has wiggle room

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, two years after it became a state, while Ted Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Thus Barack entered the world as a "natural born" American, and Ted a Canadian.

The American Constitution is explicit as to the
qualifications for those who would be its leader: Article II, Section 1, "No person except a Natural Born Citizen...shall be eligible to the office of President."

A definition either enacted by Congress, or imposed by the Supreme Court, could define
a "natural born" American as being one whose mother is American [like Cruz]. The term "natural born" has a degree of legal wiggle-room because it is a terminology from the latter 18th century which does not allow for the scientific-medical realities of
the 21st century.

The words "natural born" refer to where he was born, and the possible influence of who his parents were, or where they were citizens and why a child was born where they were.

Great Awakening: response to mess from career politicians

Since 2010, something extraordinary has been happening, something that has dumbfounded the chattering class. What is happening all across America is a Great Awakening. A response to career politicians in both parties who've gotten us into this mess.
This national movement is fueled by what unites us: a love of liberty, a belief in the unlimited potential of free men and women.

Today, many in Washington seem content to saddle our children with a financial debt larger than our nation has ever seen.
Government is out of control, and we're going broke. But I'm here with a word of encouragement. Millions of Americans are standing up, saying we want our country back.
Republicans, Democrats, and independents. We will not follow the path of Greece; we will not go quietly into the night.

OpEd: His law firm donated $200,000 to Obama's campaign

During the Q&A portion of the debate, Dewhurst needled Cruz for not going on record to support Sen. John Cornyn's bid for a GOP leadership position.

The filing deadline for the first quarter of 2012 was Sunday. Dewhurst raised $1.7 million and
Cruz raised $1.3 million.

The night before the debate, the Texas Conservatives Fund, Dewhurst's Super PAC run by Dewhurst's former chief-of-staff, put out a new attack ad on Cruz. "Shattered Vision" calls
Cruz a "false conservative" whose law firm has donated over $200,000 to Obama's campaign, sides with Chinese businesses over American ones, and opposed lowering property taxes in 2006. The ad's epic graphics, dark imagery and daunting music make
Cruz out to be some sort of Manchurian candidate. Essentially, standard Republican fare, but a sign nonetheless that Dewhurst will be hitting Cruz back hard until Election Day.

Defend Ten Commandments and "under God" in the Pledge

Ted Cruz repeatedly defended the right to free speech and religious expression, including in a landmark decision protecting the Texas Ten Commandments monument. That US Supreme Court victory set a vitally important precedent for the right to display
similar monuments across the nation. In addition, Cruz led the way on several cases that preserved the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and allows students to observe a moment of silence in schools.

Source: Campaign website, www.tedcruz.org, "Issues"
, Jul 17, 2011

Endorsed Member of the Tea Party movement.

Cruz is endorsed by the Tea Party movement

The Tea Party movement is a populist conservative social movement in the United States that emerged in 2009 through a series of locally and nationally coordinated protests. The protests were partially in response to several Federal laws: the stimulus package; te healthcare bill; and the TARP bailouts. The name "Tea Party" refers to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the source of the phrase, "No Taxation Without Representation."